A Belgian artist makes his dream come true thanks to a robot and the Proximus mobile network

28 October 2021 News

The artist Absumo has created a massive mural in Antwerp with the help of a connected graphic robot

A new type of artistic performance has taken place for the first time in Belgium. Belgian artist Geert Nys, better known as Absumo, has been able to realise his dream of painting a mural in Antwerp from his wheelchair thanks to a graphics robot connected to the Proximus mobile network. Absumo usually paints on cardboard boxes that have an irregular surface, as that reminds him of the roughness of a wall on which his expressive characters come to life. Confined to a wheelchair for 37 years, Geert wanted to one day create a work of monumental dimensions. This is now the case and on display in Sint-Paulusstraat in Antwerp until 2 November. This type of experiment should become more common in the years to come as Proximus’ increasingly powerful mobile technologies are deployed.

Technology at the service of man and art

Geert Nys is a Belgian artist with a rich and varied background: a painter, visual artist and graphic designer, he is now known by the pseudonym ABSUMO (for ABSolute Unique MOments). Over the years, his work has enabled him to exhibit from Knokke to Japan. Since he can't express himself on buildings and walls, he paints on cardboard and depicts dynamic and lively characters.

AbsumoBelgian artist

In recent years, my exhibitions have been held more and more outdoors. I started to dream of one day literally painting on a wall. Cardboard has a certain texture that fascinates me - irregular, rough, surprising – in fact it reminds me of the texture of a wall. Thanks to Proximus and its mobile technologies, I had this exceptional opportunity to carry out my project and to work in a big way, delegating part of my work to a robot. This project is inspiring as it's a combination of art, made possible by a human mind, and the technology of a robot. It's simply extraordinary.

Video transcript

30 years ago, I actually decided
to make my passion my life,

or my life my passion.

I have painted from Knokke
and Brussels to Japan.

The last 30 years I have done about
a dozen exhibitions.

And the last few years I have opened up
more and more to the outside world.

So that's why I dreamt of painting something
on a wall some day,

of working something out.

Cardboard has a certain texture that
actually reminds me of the texture of walls.

For me, the cardboards are my walls.

I have always dreamed of being able to create a work
in a large format.

I have been given this exceptional opportunity.

Being able to realie a work of those dimensions
by means of a robot

is something incredible.

I have chosen the stage name Absumo,

which stands for "ABsolutely Unique MOment".

And today this wall, I might add,
is a very special absolutely unique moment.

The robot consists of two parts.

One is standing on the ground while
the other moves across the wall.

And together they form "AlBert".

The communication between "Al"
and "Bert" is done wirelessly

and therefore AlBert needs a strong network connection
to carry out the production.

Robots need a number of
network specifications:

a very stable network, a very robust
network with a good bandwidth.

And today in Antwerp, these specs are fantastic.

The phone takes care of the connection
between the mobile network and the robot

and basically converts the mobile signal
into a Wi-Fi signal

so that the robot has a
a stable connection at all times.

I'd never seen it before,
computer controlled.

We built a robot because humans

should be able to focus on creating,
while the robot does the dirty work

When humans climb walls,

it is always dangerous and there is a risk of falling.

We see that when we replace the human
by a robot on the wall, we remove this risk.

So practical: no ladders no ropes.

Less dangerous.

We only still need a dog walking robot.

Thank you for your artwork.
- Thank you.

You made a dream come true.

It's not just as if I did it myself.

I did it myself.

With all of you. Thank you!

An absolutely unique moment made possible by Proximus' mobile technology

To reproduce Absumo's work on a surface of 6 by 7 metres, Proximus used a “graphics” robot. This mural robot works a bit like a wireless printer and is connected to a mobile network. And yet in order to receive and reproduce each pixel of the artist's work precisely, this robot needs a powerful and sufficiently stable connection.

Carried and stabilised by two drones that keep it close to the wall, and equipped with spray paint cans, the robot moves up and down the wall in vertical lines and prints pixels with each pass, until it faithfully reproduces the artist's work on the wall.

Gaetan DewingaerdenMobile network expert at Proximus

We are very happy to have been able to support Absumo in the realisation of his dream artistic project. This opens a new door on what technology can offer! Technology at the service of people is one of its most beautiful applications. Thanks to increasingly stable and high-performance networks, it will now be possible to have even more digital experiences that are full of emotion and colour.